Before the 2025 NFL Draft, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was a highly debated prospect. Some, like Mel Kiper Jr., believed Sanders was the best player in the draft. Others were bearish on his potential as a pro.

Ultimately, he had a historic slide, falling to the fifth round. And Deion Sanders, Shedeur's father and Colorado football coach, has taken aim at those who criticized and potentially spread rumors about Shedeur in the lead-up to the draft.

Shedeur Sanders was reported to have been disinterested and, in some cases, unprepared for pre-draft meetings with NFL teams, which, particularly after he had to wait until Day 3 to be selected, has led some to believe his attitude was his biggest issue.

Deion Sanders, as one might expect of a father and a college football head coach, is pushing back against the notion that Shedeur was unprepared.

“They want to create these narratives and create these stories and then attach them to a kid that ain't never done nothing wrong,” Deion Sanders told Asante Samuel.

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“When you sit up there and say something like, he went in a meeting unprepared. Like, dude, Sheduer Sanders? Who's had six different coordinators, who has still functioned and went up, leveled up, every time we brought somebody new in, and you gonna tell me he was unprepared? You gonna tell me he had on headphones?” Sanders said.

Regardless of what was said, true or untrue, it did seem to have an effect on Sanders' draft stock. He eventually became the sixth quarterback taken in the draft, behind Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, and Dillon Gabriel, the latter of whom was also drafted by the Browns.

Sanders signed a four-year deal with Cleveland, but it is unclear what his future is with the team. The Browns currently have five quarterbacks — Sanders, Gabriel, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and injured previous starter Deshaun Watson — and will need to trim down that list over the next few months. Pickett is expected to be the “odd man out,” which would likely open up the backup spot for one of the rookies behind Flacco, who is expected to start the season at QB for Cleveland.